I was feeling particularly irritable yesterday (the day after Halloween) when I saw a commercial on TV with Christmas music (my husband was watching football)! I said "Turn that off, I can't deal with Christmas right now!" That's absolutely ridiculous!

I understand that what I am giving is not good, and I try to set a good food role model for children on other days. However, the only thing most children are allowed to accept on Halloween is pre-packaged candy. Most parents look through children's bags and throw away anything home made as well as anything natural, such as fruit. I feel slightly guilty because of the artificial colors, but I am not sure that the stuff I give out that I wont eat, is that much worse than loading up on individually wrapped Snickers or Butterfingers which are also unhealthy and which I will, unfortunately, snack on myself. In fact, the lollypops I gave out this year, despite the gross colors are lower fat than the candy bars. Sadly, healthy is not an option for most children on Halloween. However, I have started throwing away all remaining candy the morning after Halloween, so that may begin giving me more options. THinking all of this over, Halloween may not be as lovely a holiday as I think it is.

Also in schools it is becoming culturally sensitive to celebrate Halloween, because some people believe it to be a religious holiday.

Dory,

Hallowe'en or All Hallows Eve is a religious holiday. It's the eve of All Saints Day which was probably put over Samhain (pronounced Sowen) the ancient Celtic festival of the dead. It was the one time of the year when demons and evil spirits wandered about. Also it was the night when witches were said to hold their most important sabbats. Bonfires were lit as protection against them. As it was believed that the dead returned to the earth on All Hallows Eve, it was once customary to leave doors open and food on kitchen tables for the souls of the dead in the family.

That info comes from 'A companion to the Folklore, Myths & Customs of Britain' by Marc Alexander._________________Confusion comes fitted as standard.

I know. I have participated in Samhain rituals. Here in south central Wisconsin I live in the middle of all things alternative, New Age and retro-hippy.

However, for me, the way most people in the U.S. celebrate Halloween is not religious. For me when pagans and other alternative religious groups celebrate Halloween it is religious, although it is a revival of religious customs that until recently had not been celebrated for many hundreds of years. The same could be said, although to a slightly lesser degree of the Mexican Day of the Dead, which mixes secular and religious tradition, although I think it is very possible to celebrate the day of the dead without it being religious. However, for me, when the average English-speaking U.S. or Canadian family celebrates Halloween the connection between the candy, the trick or treating and the costumes and historical religious celebrations is very tenuous if there is any at all. I was raised with an entirely secular tradition around Halloween. For me, Samhain, which only a tiny proportion of the U.S., Canadian and British population celebrates, is religious. Halloween, on the other hand, for me is secular. It is a bit like New Year's day which was, centuries ago a Catholic holiday pasted onto a Roman pagan holiday. There are some people who are deciding not to celebrate New Years because they see it as a religious holiday. I do not, because as far as I can tell, it lost most or all of its religious significance long ago. However, I like to be sensitive with my students, and I know that because Halloween was once such a sacred Celtic day, and because of neo-pagan and neo-Druid revivals, it is uncomfortable to conservative Christians, so I avoid celebrating it in the classroom.

I mean, fer crying out loud, some schools in Toronto banned Hallowe'en in favour of Black and Orange Day!! I have over the years known a fair number of Wiccans and have never once met one who objected to Hallowe'en per se, just the characterisation of witches, and that i feel is fair._________________Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

I think it is not Wiccans who object to Halloween (most love it) but conservative Christians who think Wicca is evil. I, personally, wish the public holiday could just stay secular. I just love seeing the kids in their costumes! The only thing I am beginning to realize from these discussions is that maybe a day of getting tons of processed junk food now is not so good now that kids are getting bombarded with horrible junk food every day. When I was a kid we got a bunch of awful food once a year. In between we got junk food only rarely. Things might be different now. I am going to think about giving out stickers next year. Nobody is going to object that they are poison because they are inedible.